Translated by Cyril Birch. The stories here are from a compilation, "Stories Old And New," published in Soochow by one Feng Meng-lung in the 1620s. ThTranslated by Cyril Birch. The stories here are from a compilation, "Stories Old And New," published in Soochow by one Feng Meng-lung in the 1620s. They are traditional in that they expound Confucian virtue: vice is punished, honor and loyalty excessively praised. But they are remarkably modern in their telling (with good use of character development, foreshadowing, etc) and some of the stories are highly realistic.

"The Lady Who Was a Beggar": Interesting comparison between what happens after a woman prematurely leaves her woodcutter husband and after a man tries to kill his wife because she comes from a beggar family. The woodcutter does not take back his wife (she's remarried), but the woman is made to take back the husband who tried to drown her.

"The Pearl-Sewn Shirt": A tale of adultery and remarriage, complete with happy ending. It's unusual that the man would take back his wife after her affair (but he also marries the wife of his wife's lover, so he wins).

"Wine And Dumplings": The story of Ma Chou, apparently a historical figure, who went unrecognized until the Emperor gave him a position. Generosity to him in his early days was later repaid well.

"The Story of Wu Pao-an": This short piece is not from the Ming collection; it was written about 800 by Niu Su. It is a clumsily-crafted tale of extreme loyalty.

"The Journey Of the Corpse": This is a retelling of the Wu Pao-an story, four hundred years later. The character development, the pacing and the emotional content are much better dealt with now. Wu Pao-an worked for ten years, abandoning his wife and child, to ransom Kuo Chung-hsiang from the barbarians. This was considered highly virtuous.

"The Canary Murders": Probably a true story about a murderer who was caught only after someone else had been executed. In all, seven people lost their lives as a consequence of the murder's actions.

"The Fairy's Rescue": My least favorite Ming story, both in content and style. Too much irrelevant citation of poetry. About a supernatural being, disguised as an old man, who marries a young girl, and her brother's search for her. The brother's anger at the old man taking away his sister keeps him from rising to a high position in heaven. ...more

This is a 330-page adaptation of the 18th century Chinese novel about fate, mysticism, doomed romance and theTranslated and abridged by Chi-Chen Wang

This is a 330-page adaptation of the 18th century Chinese novel about fate, mysticism, doomed romance and the fortunes of an aristocratic family. It's fascinating reading for its details about Chinese family values, social hierarchy, interfamily relationships and customs. At times, the various titles and honorifics used were confusing; at one point in the text, the author says that a group of related characters who lived together in a garden house themselves frequently addressed each other by the wrong title, forgetting who was older than whom. The adaptation/abridgment was capable (there weren't great gaps in the story), although the rapid deaths of many characters one after the other was disconcerting. Asian fatalism comes through in the ending, which is not a traditionally happy one, nor is it excessively moralistic. Some characters die who deserve it, some don't; some bad things go punished, some good deeds go rewarded – and some don't. A true slice of life novel....more

Translated by Denis C. and Victor H. Mair. This long collection of 51 tales from the 500s that Pu Songling accumulated all center around the supernatuTranslated by Denis C. and Victor H. Mair. This long collection of 51 tales from the 500s that Pu Songling accumulated all center around the supernatural: ghosts, werefoxes, and portentous dreams. Like Aesop's fables do with animals, these tales use the spirit world to demonstrate morals about the human world. Belligerent people (the Manchus) and corrupt officials are almost always Pu Songling's targets, although the tales also praise the qualities that make good marriages. Most of the morals stress the Chinese values of filial piety, learning, restraint, and forthrightness, although one or two, oddly, chastise the characters for loving books too much and not enjoying life enough. Despite the traditionally moral stance, the tales inevitably have very strong women characters (albeit supernatural ones), indicating Pu Songling's interest in breaking away from the restrictive feudal culture of his times. More than informative, though, the tales are fun to read, shocking sometimes in their graphic depiction of hell, lust, etc. Strange tales indeed....more

Aside from an introduction with biographies and a few annotations, this book is composed of brief selections from three Tang dynasty poets: Wang Wei,Aside from an introduction with biographies and a few annotations, this book is composed of brief selections from three Tang dynasty poets: Wang Wei, Li Bai, and Du Fu. Eighth-century near-contemporaries, the three poets produced some strikingly beautiful verse. Seth’s translation replicates the rhyme, and so tries to translate the assonance as well as the meaning of the poems.

Of the three --- “Buddhist recluse, Taoist immortal, and Confucian sage” respectively, I think I prefer Du Fu’s bleakly realistic moral plaints (“The great are always paid in disuse and neglect”). But Li Bai’s ecstatic odes to life and wine are far from flat: “Cook a sheep, slaughter an ox, and for our further pleasure / Let’s drink three hundred cups of wine down in a single measure... We’ll dissolve the sorrows of a hundred centuries.” Simply beautiful, timeless pieces from twelve hundred years ago...more